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The a-spec flag.

A-spec (or A-spectrum) is an umbrella term for all identities on the asexual and aromantic spectrums. A-spec can describe an individual who is on the asexual spectrum, the aromantic spectrum, or both.

A-spec is also sometimes used more broadly to include other identities that use the "a-" prefix, such as agender and aplatonic.^[1] Aroace agender is sometimes called AAA-spec (pronounced "triple-A-spec").

Controversy

Asexual and aromantic individuals have sometimes been accused of appropriating the term "a-spec" from the autistic community. However, the term was created in 2015 specifically for aces and aros and had no prior usage history.^[2]^[3]

Within the asexual and aromantic communities, the use of the term "a-spec" has also been criticized for introducing confusion through frequent misuse, particularly regarding asexuals using "a-spec" when only asexual spectrum (ace-spec) individuals are relevant or through saying "a-spec and aro-spec", implying that the aromantic spectrum is not inherently included under the a-spec umbrella. Unfortunately, for some individuals, "a-spec" and "ace-spec" are phonetically indistinguishable when spoken aloud.^[4]

History

Tumblr users warriorsdebt, whes, and strategicgoat introduced the term a-spectrum in 2015.^[5]

Flag

Tumblr user the-moon-is-aroace created the a-spec flag on March 25th, 2019.^[6] The compass rose in the middle symbolises how individuals all experience attraction differently, if at all. The green and purple are on opposite sides of the quadrant to show that asexuality and aromanticism are separate and independent identities, with the black and grey quadrants connecting them. Black represents the aroace community, and grey represents grey communities.

Tumblr users sapphic-squirrel and hetaces designed the aloe vera a-spec flag with help from the Inclusionist Discord Server, and they posted it on November 17th, 2019.^[7] It was designed to mimic the sapphic, achillean, diamoric, and pluralian flags with three stripes and one plant. The green is for aromantics, the purple for asexuals, and the grey is for the grey area between "a-" identities and "allo-" identities (including those that don't have solid labels but know they are somewhere under the umbrellas of asexual or aromantic).

Tumblr user untitled-google-docs-document created an alternative flag on July 5th, 2022.^[8] She created this flag mainly because the a-spec flags have only included aro and ace individuals and not aplatonic and agender individuals. Thus, she wanted to make a flag inclusive to all a-spec individuals. The green stripe represents aromantic and agender individuals. The yellow string represents love and relationships outside of amatonormative ideas, how the community fights against amatonormativity and radicalises the word "love", and tertiary attraction. The white stripes represent the diversity of the a-spec community. The blue stripe represents anyone who is aplatonic. The purple stripe represents asexual individuals and the a-spec community as a whole. The compass rose symbol was inspired by the-moon-is-aroace's a-spec flag, only changing the colour for aesthetic reasons.

References

[1] ttps://archive.today/2020.08.09-195810/https://asafetynet.tumblr.com/post/112827135411/a-spectrum-safety-net

[2] ttps://archive.today/2018.04.14-072616/http://historicallyace.tumblr.com/post/161502315942/do-you-per-chance-know-when-asexuals-first

[3] ttps://archive.today/2022.02.03-130600/https://apersnicketylemon.tumblr.com/post/189192893072/aspec-does-not-and-has-never-meant-autism

[4] ttps://archive.today/2022.02.03-130945/https://shades-of-grayro.tumblr.com/post/190426507065/again-im-not-critiquing-the-usefulness-of-a-word

[5] ttps://archive.today/2020.08.09-200247/https://warriorsdebt.tumblr.com/post/157795101420/wetwareproblem-aphobephobe-wetwareproblem

[6] ttps://archive.today/2022.02.04-122940/https://the-moon-is-aroace.tumblr.com/post/183702972387/a-new-flag-for-the-aspec-community-just-an-idea-i

[7] ttps://archive.today/2021.12.07-223350/https://sapphic-squirrel.tumblr.com/post/189130109062/hello-everyone-i-want-to-present-a-community-flag

[8] ttps://archive.today/https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/untitled-google-docs-document/688973602249408512?source=share

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:A-spec.svg|thumb|220x220px|The a-spec flag.|alt=A flag with four coloured rectangles. The top right is dark green, the top left is black, the bottom right is grey, and the bottom left is purple. There is a white star in the middle.]]
-[[File:A-spec.svg|thumb|220x220px|A commonly used a-spectrum flag]]
+[[File:Aspec.png|thumb|The aloe vera a-spec flag.|180x180px]]
-'''A-Spectrum''', or '''A-Spec''', is an umbrella term for all identities on the [[Asexual Spectrum|asexual spectrum]] and [[Aromantic Spectrum|aromantic spectrum]]. It is also sometimes used more broadly to include other identities that use the "a-" prefix, such as [[agender]] and [[aplatonic]].<ref>[https://asafetynet.tumblr.com/post/112827135411/a-spectrum-safety-net A-Spectrum Safety Net]</ref> [[File:Aspecflag.png|thumb|220x220px|An alternate a-spectrum flag]]
+[[File:A spec flag.png|thumb|180x180px|The redesigned aloe vera a-spec flag.]]
-The term a-spectrum was introduced by Tumblr users warriorsdebt, whes, and strategicgoat in 2015.<ref>[https://warriorsdebt.tumblr.com/post/157795101420/wetwareproblem-aphobephobe-wetwareproblem Post about the origins of a-spectrum]</ref><ref>[https://allopropaganda.tumblr.com/post/187450596983 “A-spec” does not mean Aro AND Ace]</ref>
-[[File:A-spec.ace.aro.age.apl|thumb|220x220px]]
+[[File:Aroace aspec flag.jpg|alt=|thumb|The striped a-spec flag.|180x180px]]
+[[File:Alt A-Spec Flag.jpg|thumb|180x180px|Alternative a-spec flag.]]
+'''A-spec''' (or '''A-spectrum''') is an [[Umbrella Term|umbrella term]] for all identities on the [[Asexual Spectrum|asexual]] and [[Aromantic Spectrum|aromantic]] spectrums. A-spec can describe an individual who is on the asexual spectrum, the aromantic spectrum, or [[Aroace Spectrum|both]].
+A-spec is also sometimes used more broadly to include other identities that use the "a-" prefix, such as [[Agender|agender]] and [[Aplatonic|aplatonic]].<ref>{{Archive|URL=2020.08.09-195810/https://asafetynet.tumblr.com/post/112827135411/a-spectrum-safety-net}}</ref> [[Aroace Agender|Aroace agender]] is sometimes called AAA-spec (pronounced "triple-A-spec").
-== Controversy ==
+==Controversy==
-Aces and aros have sometimes been accused of appropriating the term "a-spec" from the autistic community. This is impossible, as the term was created in 2015 specifically for aces and aros and has no prior usage history before that point.<ref>[https://historicallyace.tumblr.com/post/161502315942/do-you-per-chance-know-when-asexuals-first When asexuals first started using the term "aspec"]</ref><ref>[https://apersnicketylemon.tumblr.com/post/189192893072/aspec-does-not-and-has-never-meant-autism Aspec does not and has never meant ‘Autism spectrum’]</ref>
+[[Asexual]] and [[Aromantic|aromantic]] individuals have sometimes been accused of appropriating the term "a-spec" from the autistic community. However, the term was created in 2015 specifically for aces and aros and had no prior usage history.<ref>{{Archive|URL=2018.04.14-072616/http://historicallyace.tumblr.com/post/161502315942/do-you-per-chance-know-when-asexuals-first}}</ref><ref>{{Archive|URL=2022.02.03-130600/https://apersnicketylemon.tumblr.com/post/189192893072/aspec-does-not-and-has-never-meant-autism}}</ref>
-With the ace and aro communities, the term "a-spec" has also been criticized for introducing confusion through frequent misuse.<ref>[https://shades-of-grayro.tumblr.com/post/190426507065/again-im-not-critiquing-the-usefulness-of-a-word Intracommunity criticism of a-spec]</ref> In response to aces sometimes using "a-spec" when only asexuals are relevant. Unfortunately, for some people, "a-spec" and "acespec" are phonetically indistinguishable when spoken aloud.
+Within the asexual and aromantic communities, the use of the term "a-spec" has also been criticized for introducing confusion through frequent misuse, particularly regarding asexuals using "a-spec" when only asexual spectrum (ace-spec) individuals are relevant or through saying "a-spec and aro-spec", implying that the aromantic spectrum is not inherently included under the a-spec umbrella. Unfortunately, for some individuals, "a-spec" and "ace-spec" are phonetically indistinguishable when spoken aloud.<ref>{{Archive|URL=2022.02.03-130945/https://shades-of-grayro.tumblr.com/post/190426507065/again-im-not-critiquing-the-usefulness-of-a-word}}</ref>
-== Flag ==
+==History==
+Tumblr users [https://www.tumblr.com/warriorsdebt warriorsdebt], whes, and [https://www.tumblr.com/strategicgoat strategicgoat] introduced the term a-spectrum in 2015.<ref>{{Archive|URL=2020.08.09-200247/https://warriorsdebt.tumblr.com/post/157795101420/wetwareproblem-aphobephobe-wetwareproblem}}</ref>
-The a-spec flag was created by Tumblr user The-Moon-Is-Aroace on March 25, 2019.<ref>{{archived link|https://the-moon-is-aroace.tumblr.com/post/183702972387/a-new-flag-for-the-aspec-community-just-an-idea-i|https://web.archive.org/web/20200809185542/https://the-moon-is-aroace.tumblr.com/post/183702972387/a-new-flag-for-the-aspec-community-just-an-idea-i|A new flag for the aspec community}}</ref> The compass rose in the middle is a symbol of how people all experience attraction in different ways, if at all. The green and purple are on opposite sides of the quadrant to show that [[Asexual|asexuality]] and [[Aromantic|aromanticism]] are their own separate and independent identities, with the black and grey quadrants connecting them. Black represents the [[aroace|aro ace]] community and grey represents grey communities.
+==Flag==
+Tumblr user [https://www.tumblr.com/the-moon-is-aroace the-moon-is-aroace] created the a-spec flag on March 25th, 2019.<ref>{{Archive|URL=2022.02.04-122940/https://the-moon-is-aroace.tumblr.com/post/183702972387/a-new-flag-for-the-aspec-community-just-an-idea-i}}</ref> The compass rose in the middle symbolises how individuals all experience [[Attraction|attraction]] differently, if at all. The green and purple are on opposite sides of the quadrant to show that asexuality and aromanticism are separate and independent identities, with the black and grey quadrants connecting them. Black represents the [[Aroace|aroace]] community, and grey represents grey communities.
+Tumblr users [https://www.tumblr.com/sapphic-squirrel sapphic-squirrel] and [https://www.tumblr.com/hetaces hetaces] designed the aloe vera a-spec flag with help from the Inclusionist Discord Server, and they posted it on November 17th, 2019.<ref>{{Archive|URL=2021.12.07-223350/https://sapphic-squirrel.tumblr.com/post/189130109062/hello-everyone-i-want-to-present-a-community-flag}}</ref> It was designed to mimic the [[Sapphic|sapphic]], [[Achillean|achillean]], [[Diamoric|diamoric]], and [[Pluralian|pluralian]] flags with three stripes and one plant. The green is for aromantics, the purple for asexuals, and the grey is for the grey area between "a-" identities and "allo-" identities (including those that don't have solid labels but know they are somewhere under the umbrellas of asexual or aromantic).
-== References ==
-<references />[[Category:Terminology]]
+Tumblr user [https://www.tumblr.com/untitled-google-docs-document untitled-google-docs-document] created an alternative flag on July 5th, 2022.<ref>{{Archive|Site=today|URL=https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/untitled-google-docs-document/688973602249408512?source=share}}</ref> She created this flag mainly because the a-spec flags have only included aro and ace individuals and not aplatonic and agender individuals. Thus, she wanted to make a flag inclusive to all a-spec individuals. The green stripe represents aromantic and agender individuals. The yellow string represents love and relationships outside of amatonormative ideas, how the community fights against [[Amatonormativity|amatonormativity]] and radicalises the word "love", and [[Tertiary Attraction|tertiary attraction]]. The white stripes represent the diversity of the a-spec community. The blue stripe represents anyone who is aplatonic. The purple stripe represents asexual individuals and the a-spec community as a whole. The compass rose symbol was inspired by the-moon-is-aroace's a-spec flag, only changing the colour for aesthetic reasons.
+==References==
 [[Category:Identity]]
+[[Category:Verified Resources]]
+[[Category:A-spec Identity]]
+[[Category:Umbrella Terms]]